25 Weeks

My belly is so big now that people in public are starting to ask about the baby, and I'm not sure how much longer my non-maternity shirts (like this one) are going to be able to keep stretching with me!



Stephen and I went to a parenting and breastfeeding photography exhibit at a local art gallery that was also hosting an event with speakers from around the community today. It was nice to be around other like-minded parents. I'm beginning to get anxious about how this whole parenting thing is going to work, and it's good to know that there are supportive groups in Athens for the things I'm concerned about, especially since we live so far away from family and haven't made any friends with kids here yet who might be able to provide some support when we need it.

On a different note, UGA was recently chosen as one of the top 10 universities in the country to get "the best bang for your buck" based on the quality of education and price. It's still hard to believe that Stephen is actually teaching at such a well-respected university. We're hoping that he'll advance beyond the instructor position one day, but for now, this is the best opportunity he could have fresh out of grad school. We feel so blessed!

Preparing for Baby

24 weeks


For the longest time, it seemed like my due date was forever and ever away, but now May 6th seems like it's just around the corner, and I'm busily preparing for our little girl. I'm reading books about labor, signing up for childbirth and breastfeeding classes that will start next month, and we took our first hospital tour this weekend. I had another ultrasound today, and everything looks great for the baby. She weighs 1 lb. 9 oz., which is right on target for her age; her heartbeat is at 140, which is also good for her age; and the doctor said my amniotic fluid looks excellent. I love to get good reports about our baby!

We have not gotten much stuff for the baby yet, and I'm completely overwhelmed by all the things we are going to need! Wow! We were so excited to receive these great Christmas presents that were given to our little girl.



These are the first little outfits she received, given to us by Stephen's parents and aunts. They are adorable and it's comforting to know that we have something for her to wear now! She also got her first stuffed animal for Christmas, this adorable soft pink teddy bear, from Dad and Sonya. And she got her first toy, the monkey rattle, and a beautiful box for keepsakes from my mom.

I found a baby girl scrapbook that I absolutely love, also for Christmas via Aunt Jennifer, and I'm so excited to get it started for our baby!


(Btw, we're not naming our daughter Emily, it's just the default name that came in the scrapbook!)

I am in love with all the fun pieces that came with it. This is the first time I've used a scrapbook "kit," and I'm hoping that all the coordinating papers and embellishments are going to speed up the scrapbooking process!



Stephen and I are taking full advantage of our last months together before baby makes three. We are trying to go to the places that will be hard to go to once the baby gets here, like art museums and such. And there are so many great locally-owned restaurants we want to try out. This weekend we went to The Transmetropolitan, home of the delish "Hungry Sasquatch" pizza.



Speaking of food, I did not gain four pounds again last week, thank goodness! I cut back my ice cream consumption from a half-gallon per week to a pint per week, and got results! Lol. I cannot believe how hard it is getting to move around already-- I can really see how exercising regularly all along would have been helpful. Today Stephen and I walked around our hilly neighborhood and 15 minutes was all I could do-- I can't believe how out of shape I am! I'm trying to get back into exercising regularly; my goal is to do a little something each day alternating short walks with gentle prenatal yoga. I've done a little walking for three days in a row now, and feel so much better afterward. I keep hearing about how labor is the biggest marathon in life and I want to get better prepared for it!

Explosion Time

23 Weeks


I am seriously exploding! I feel like a stuffed sausage, like my belly cannot accommodate all the things inside of it. All of a sudden, my appetite has skyrocketed and I feel like I can just eat and eat and eat. It's insane! Last week I made the mistake of going to the grocery store while I was a little hungry, and I came back home loaded down with pecan spinwheels, cinnamon rolls from the bakery, and a carton of ice cream. Guess who ate it all?? I've gained four pounds in one week! Obviously, it's time to quit keeping junk food within my reach, or I'm going to turn into an elephant by the time this thing is over. Stephen is going to have to be the grocery police from now on!

The baby is so big now that I can actually see my stomach moving when she does her daily acrobatics! But the mind-boggling thing is that in last 23 weeks, she has only gained a pound; yet in the next 17 weeks, she will be packing on the weight to gain about six pounds! I, on the other hand, will be gaining much more than six pounds. I absolutely want her to be a healthy weight, but it's overwhelming to think about how much bigger I'm going to get. My belly is already getting in the way... I can't bend over all the way anymore, it's hard to get up from couches, it's difficult to roll over in bed, and it's already getting harder to snuggle up to Stephen (which just happens to be one of my very favorite things to do). Last week I actually got stuck when I was rearranging the computer wires underneath a desk! When I get down on the floor, how I'm going to get back up from the floor is now a legitimate concern... what is it going to be like by next month, or in three months?!

Back Home!

We had a really nice trip to Alabama, but I am so happy to be back home! Here's a couple more highlights from our trip...

I finally got to meet my friend Jenny's adorable son Isaac, who is already one month old. It was so much fun to hold him (especially since he was sleeping!) and while he was resting on my tummy our little girl started moving around in my tummy, which was really cute.


Saying goodbye to my dear friend Inna who's moving to Europe this week. We're looking forward to visiting her there one day!


Stephen has been playing a LOT of guitar lately... here he is turning my acoustic guitar into a slide guitar. (You can see why I fell in love with him!)


We got to visit my very favorite place in Alabama, Mt. Cheaha State Park, home to the highest point in the state.


This mountain has the most amazing view of the sunset. And there is just something really cool about knowing that you are at the highest elevation out of any other person in an entire state. Stephen surprised me for my birthday one year by renting a cabin at the top of this mountain for us. (He earned major points for that one!)


Now it's time to think about the new year and the things I want to accomplish. There's always something so exciting about the possibilities that come with a brand new year. I hope everyone has a happy and blessed 2010!

Christmastime

We've had a really good time visiting with all of our family and old friends in Alabama over the last week. Here's a few pics from the holidays:

Christmas Eve with the Carrolls (Stephen's mother's family)


Stephen's parents are always so sweet to invite my mom to their gatherings. She usually comes to one of their Christmas gatherings every year. We feel really fortunate that our parents get along so well together!


With Meme, Stephen's last surviving grandparent


Christmas day with the Brooks (Stephen's dad's family)


With Stephen's cousin and his wife, who are expecting their first baby just five weeks before ours!


With my mom and brothers. Next year, we are going to stand next to the tree instead of standing in front of it. We are all so tall that you can't even see the tree!


My little brothers make Stephen and me look like dwarfs! Their dad is 6'6", and I think Lee just might get there in the next couple of years!


A pit stop at the Anniston Museum of Natural History (one of the only attractions in this part of Alabama). The dead stuffed animals are kind of eerie, but it's also kind of cool to get a close look at so many previously living animals that we would never see up close otherwise.


On an African safari...


We revisited Jacksonville, the town where we met as freshman in college in 2001. We drove past our first apartment, where we lived from 2002-2004 when we were first married. This place will always hold a special place in our hearts since it was our first home together. I was thrilled to see that the current tenants decorated the porch with Christmas lights the same way we used to.


Over the past week, we've also gotten to see a lot of our old friends from high school who are home for the holidays... always terriffic to catch up with old friends. We're still in Alabama, and our travel plans have been thrown off a bit by both of us getting sick =( I woke up throwing up at 6:00 Christmas morning at my in-laws' house... not exactly the way you want to start the day! As soon as I had recovered from the stomach bug, Stephen picked up a terrible cold, and we had to quarantine ourselves from each other so I wouldn't catch it. Apparently I'm going to catch every bug I come into contact with while I'm pg, so I'm trying to become more vigilant about staying away from possible sources... being sick while pg is definitely not fun! I couldn't keep any food down for a couple of days, and it was just awful because I could feel my little girl moving around, and was constantly worried about whether she was getting enough hydration and calories. Thankfully, Stephen and I are both better now. Hopefully we can stay that way!

Pre-Holidays

Now that Stephen is on break and I am feeling really well, we've had some time to get out and get to know our new location a little better. We got to have several yummy lunches at some of Athens' locally-owned hotspots and have enjoyed the holiday decorations in the historic downtown area.

The beautiful historic Athens City Hall


We took a day trip to Helen, Georgia, a quaint little mountain town that has been designed to look like a traditional Bavarian village.





And we took a drive along a scenic byway in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains and saw some of the tallest peaks in Georgia, which actually had a little snow on them. We have been missing the mountains something fierce (Athens is hilly, but not mountainous) and were so happy to finally see some. It's hard to call these 4,000' peaks "mountains" after being surrounded by 8,000' peaks in Tucson and seeing 14,000' mountains in Colorado... but we'll take what we can get here! These mountains will be beautiful to drive through next fall, and there are tons of places to go canoeing, camping, horseback riding, etc. We are looking forward to having this mountain getaway nearby to enjoy when the weather gets warmer!


Tomorrow we're headed to Alabama and will be staying with our families there for about a week. We're looking forward to eating some delicious food and seeing some old friends while we're there. We're really sad that we won't be able to make it to Dallas this year... we've been there for almost every other Christmas this decade, but we just don't have a good way to get out there this time. I'm going to miss seeing everyone!

I hope that everyone has a wonderful Christmas surrounded with family, friends, and fun! Happy holidays!

Professor Brooks

Stephen is officially done with his first semester of teaching at the University of Georgia! Yay!!! He can finally take a break and relax now. This semester was a little tough since he taught twice as many classes as he did as a grad student, had 84 students, and had to re-work a lot of his class material to fit the UGA composition program. (And did I mention all the extra housework he had to do in addition to his paid work during my first trimester? He has been amazing!) Grading essays and homework assignments and holding multiple conferences with 84 students is no easy task, and he has been on one long grading marathon ever since the end of September, many nights having to grade until 11:00 or even to 1:00 in the morning, and he has spent every weekend grading as well, only taking breaks long enough to watch a football game or two. He deserves some time to relax!!

We have been very pleased with the results of his efforts. This semester he received the best student evaluations he's ever gotten before (almost all of his students rated him "above average" or "excellent"). And the administration has offered him extra courses to teach next semester in addition to those he's contracted for! I am especially thrilled about that, because it implies that they really like him and are happy with the work he has been doing... I know how hard he's been working, but it's really encouraging to know that his boss is recognizing that as well! I'm so proud of my professor!